Refrigerated produce package



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 2, 1952 INVENTOR.

CHfiRLES P SAMBRAILO ATTORNEY Feb. 1, 1955 c. P. SAMBRAILO REFRIGERATED PRODUCE PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2, 1952 INVENTOR. CHARLES P. SAMBRAILO ATTORNEY United States Patent REFRIGERATED PRODUCE PACKAGE Charles P. Sambrailo, Watsonville, Calif.

Application January 2, 1952, Serial No. 264,514

2 Claims. (Cl. 62-1) This invention relates to the packaging of perishable commodities, and, more specifically, to the crating of vegetables with crushed ice for long distance shipment. While the invention may be employed in the crating and refrigerating of various fresh vegetables and other perishable farm commodities, its most important use is in the packing or crating of lettuce, and the invention accordingly will be described with particular reference to this use, although the invention is not to be understood as limited to the employment with lettuce packing only.

One important object of this invention is to provide an improved means for use in the crating of vegetables, especially lettuce, whereby an adequate layer of crushed ice may be disposed on the top of the crate contents and beneath the lid of the crate.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for protecting the outer sides of the top layer of vegetables in a packed crate against bruising when the crate lid is forcibly fastened down on the crate.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an improved method and means for use in the packing of a refrigerated crate of lettuce and the like which will make possible some reduction in the time, labor and expense which have customarily been regarded as necessary in the proper performance of such packing.

The manner in which these objects and other advantages are attained with my invention, and the manner in which and means by which my invention is carried out, will be apparent from the following brief description in which reference is made, by way of illustration, to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the special collared pad which is a feature of the invention, this view showing the collared pad by itself, folded and ready for use;

Fig. 2 shows a cut out blank from which the collared pad is made in one form;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a filled lettuce crate showing the filled crate prior to the folding over of the liners on the top of the pack and prior to the securing of the lid to the crate; part of the top pad and top ice being removed to show the top layer of lettuce;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a packed lettuce crate in which my invention is employed showing the lid of the crate secured in place, the section being taken longitudinally of the crate;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified collared pad with which my invention may be carried out; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a packed lettuce crate in which the modified collared pad of Fig. 5 is employed,

this figure showing the packed crate prior to the securing of the top lid in place.

Referring first to Figs. 3 and 4, a conventional crate of the type used extensively in the crating of refrigerated lettuce for shipment is indicated in general by the reference character 10. When the packing is performed the crate is first lined with suitable material, such as heavy paper, parchment paper, creped paper padding or other well known crate liners. For this purpose a pair of liner strips are used, one strip 12 which is designated as the end liner, the width of which is approximately equal to the inside width of the crate, being placed lengthwise of the crate so as to extend over the bottom and two ends of the crate, and the other strip 13, having a width approximately equal to the inside length of the crate, being placed cross wise so as to extend over the bottom and 2,700,877 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 two sides of the crate. The two ends of each of these hner strips extend beyond the top of the crate and form flaps which overlie the outside walls of the crate during the packing operation, as shown in Fig. 3.

At the start of the packing operation a layer of crushed me 14 (see Fig. 4) is placed on the bottom of the lined crate. The bottom layer of lettuce 15 (or other produce) 1s then placed on the bottom ice. In lettuce packing, the lettuce heads are preferably placed with the butt ends up as illustrated. A rectangular pad or separator sheet 16, of approximately the same size as the interior of the crate, is placed over the first layer of lettuce and a second layer of crushed ice 14 is placed on the separator pad 16. This is followed by a second layer of lettuce 15.

The packing described thus far is more or less conventional. The first layer of ice at the bottom of the crate, however, is optional and frequently omitted. For the separator pad or sheet 16 any heavy, strong and water absorbent or water permeable material may be used. Preferably a heavy pulp sheet is employed for this purpose since such a pulp sheet, while having the advantage of being absorbent and thus of keeping moist (and also being capable of absorbing some of the latex which may be exuded from the lettuce butts in time), and also being soft enough when moist to conform to the butts of the individual lettuce heads, at the same time retains enough tensile strength so that it will not go to pieces under the strain imposed when the pack is pressed down when the lid is secured on the crate.

With the conventional packing of lettuce a similar pad or separator sheet is placed over each layer of lettuce, and crushed ice is placed on the top of each pad or sheet, the final layer of ice being placed on the top pad at the top of the crate. Then the ends of the crate liners are folded over the top ice and the lid of the crate is secured in place.

A serious difiiculty with such conventional packing is the fact that the crate is necessarily over-filled at the start, with the top pad over the top layer of lettuce being a least as high as the sides of the crate, if not higher. The result is that when the last scoop of ice or the final layer of crushed ice is deposited on the top pad, a considerable portion of the ice spills off the crate before the liner flaps are brought over on top of the ice and before the lid of the crate is fastened down. Another difficulty is that the liner flaps themselves are not strong enough to stand the strain imposed when the pack is forced down with the securing of the lid in place, and these flaps do not provide sufficient protection to the outer sides of the top of the layer of lettuce at the top of the pack when the lid is pressed down.

One of the attempts made to overcome these difficulties in such packing involves the insertion of a separate rectangular collar of stiff paper in the top of the crate during the filling of the crate so that the collar will extend around the inside walls at the top of the crate and project above the top of the crate walls and above the top pad of the pack. the employment of such an additional collar in this manner is described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,186,532, issued under date of January 9, 1940, to L. M. Tracy and entitled Method and Means for Ice Crating Vegetables.

the employment of the special collar described in the above mentioned patent, however, not only adds an additional item to the cost of the materials used in the packing, which additional item raises the total material cost appreciably, but the handling of the separate collar and the placing of the same manually in proper position and at the proper time in eachcrate also slows down the packing operation and is a source of annoyance to those who are engaged in the work, especially when the packing is done on a large scale in an assembly line with considerable emphasis on speed. There are also other difficulties encountered in the employment of the separate collar of the above mentioned patent, one of these diificulties being that the top edges of the collar must be folded over inwardly after the top ice has been placed on the pack, otherwise the collar will be shoved down into the crate along the side walls. For these reasons the use of a separate collar in the top of the refrigerated crate has received only partial acceptance by the trade.

In the carrying out of my invention I follow the conventional method previously described except that in place of the ordinary separator pad on top of the second, or next to last layer, of lettuce or other commodity in the crate, I place a pad 13 (Fig. 1) formed from the blank shown in Fig. 2, having a main rectangular portion of the same size as the ordinary separator pad but having a pair of side sections 19 and a pair of end sections 20 extending from the edges of the main portion. These side and end sections are bent upwardly from the main portion so as to extend substantially at 90 with respect to the main portion and these upwardly-extending side and end sections 19 and 20 are of sufiicient size so that they will extend up a short distance above the top of the crate and above the top of the third layer of lettuce, or other commodity in the crate, and to the desired level for the top layer of crushed ice.

This special pad 18, which, for want of a better term I designate as a collared pad, is set on top of the second layer of lettuce, or other commodity, as previously mentioned in place of the regulation pad (see Fig. 4). The usual layer of crushed ice is placed on the collared pad followed by the third layer of lettuce, as shown. An ordinary pad 17 is then placed on top of the top layer of lettuce, as usual, followed by the top layer of ice extending at least to the level of the top edges of the upturned portions of the collared pad, and folding of the liner flaps over the top ice.

Inasmuch as the wall sections of the collared pad extend up above the top layer of lettuce and above the top pad 17, the top ice does not spill off of the top pad 17 in the packing operation and this facilitates the packing considerably. Furthermore, when the pack is pushed down and compressed in the fastening of the crate lid 11 to the crate, which operation is generally performed in a suitable press, the upwardly-extending wall sections of the collared pad are bent over inwardly in part at the top, and are slightly crushed in part and slightly pushed down. All of this has its advantages. The downward thrust on these wall sections does not merely cause them to slide down on the inside of the crate, as might occur with an entirely separate collar, but such thrust, being resisted in part by the main body portion of the collared pad, causes some downward thrust on the outer portion of the second layer of lettuce and thus aids somewhat in compressing the lower part of the pack. The top portions of the wall sections protect the lettuce in the top layer from being bruised along the outer sides with the pressing down of the lid, and the top portions of these wall sections at the lateral sides of the top of the crate, and along the bulge of the lid, reinforce the liner flaps of the side liners where the strain is greatest and where the greatest area of exposure for the top ice and top lettuce would be most apt to occur with the failure of the side liner flaps.

The employment of my collared pad entails practically no inconvenience or extra time in the packing operation, and the cost of the extra material required for this special pad and the cost of stamping out and folding of the same is relatively slight. The setting of the collared pad in the crate on the top of the second layer of lettuce, or other commodity, can be done as quickly and as easily as the setting of the conventional pad in place. The inconvenience, annoyance, and extra operation involved in setting a separate collar on the inside of the top of the crate, for example, is entirely avoided. When the collared pad has been set in place it requires no further attention, especially when the collared pad is made of the preferred material suggested, namely a heavy pulp sheet, such as is at present extensively used for the regulation separator pads.

My collared pad, if desired, can also be satisfactorily employed if the end wall sections 20 are entirely omitted. Such a modified form of the collared pad is shown in Fig. 5. Thus the pad 21 is formed with the two side wall extensions 22. Fig. 6 illustrates this modified form of collared pad in place in a packed crate of lettuce. Inasmuch as the bulge in the top of the packed crate occurs along the sides, and since the spilling of the top ice in the packed operation occurs mainly over the lateral sides,

the side wall sections of the collared pad are relatively more important and necessary than the end wall sections. Consequently it is possible to pack the crate satisfactorily even with this modified form of my collared pad. Also with some special types of pack a modified collared pad might be used. with end wall sections but without side wall sections.

As a general rule, however, I believe the collared pad made with end wall sections as well as side wall sections, and thus made in the form shown in Fig. 1, will be found to be more convenient to use since it will prevent any possible spilling of the top ice over the ends of the crate as well as over the sides of the crate prior to the fastening down of the lid. The difference in cost between the two forms of my collared pad is insignificant and therefore for these reasons I consider the form of my invention as shown in Fig. 1 to be the preferred form.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerated produce package including a rectangular crate and liners for said crate extending over the inside of the end walls and bottom and over the inside of the side walls and bottom of said crate, a plurality of layers of said produce in said lined crate, a pad of semi-rigid material between the top layer and the next lower layer of said produce, said pad having a main portion of approximately the same dimensions as the inside of said crate and having a pair of integral wall portions extending upwardly from the opposite side edges of said pad, said wall portions being the same length as said pad, said side wall portions being of sufficient height to extend up above the top of said crate and beyond the top of said top layer, a separator sheet on top of said top layer, crushed top ice on said separator sheet, said side wall portions extending up to the top of said top ice, the top ends of said liners folded over on said top ice, and the lid of said crate bowed over said produce and top ice and secured to the top edges of the end walls of said crate, said wall portions of said pad serving in part to keep said top ice from escaping over the sides of said crate and out from beneath said bowed lid.

2. A refrigerated produce package conmprising a rectangular crate, liners for said crate extending over the inside of the end walls and bottom and over the inside of the side walls and bottom of said crate, a plurality of layers of said produce in said lined crate, a separator sheet over the bottom layer of produce in said crate, crushed ice on said separator sheet, a pad of semi-rigid material between the top layer and the next lower layer of said produce, a layer of ice on top of said pad beneath said top layer of produce, said pad having a main portion of approximately the same dimensions as the inside of said crate and having two pairs of integral wall portions extending upwardly from the opposite side edges and the opposite end edges of said pad respectively and corresponding in length to the length and width of said pad respectively, said side wall portions being of sufficient height to extend up above the top of said crate and beyond the top of said top layer, a separator sheet on top of said top layer, crushed top ice on said last mentioned separator sheet, said side wall portions extending up to the top of said top ice, the top ends of said liners folded over on said top ice, and the lid of said crate bowed over said produce and top ice and secured to the top edges of the end walls of said crate, said wall portions from said side edges of said pad serving in part to keep said top ice rom escaping over the sides of said crate and out from beneath said bowed lid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,608,422 Plass Nov. 23, 1926 1,674,724 House June 26, 1928 1,828,179 Gallagher Oct. 20, 1931 1,895,319 Grande Jan. 24, 1933 2,005,594 Ridgeway June 18, 1935 2,124,412 Dodge July 19, 1938 2,186,352 Tracy Jan. 9, 1940 2,296,664 Hall Sept. 22, 1942 2,413,129 Wilson Dec. 24, 1946 2,652,696 McCann et al Sept. 22, 1953 

